Besides Facebook and Twitter, there are dozens of other social networking sites out there for independent musicians to take advantage of. And while some might be great for easily sharing your music like SoundCloud and Last.FM, there are other sites that are finding more and more interesting uses. With over 10 million users, Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social networks out there today. Pinterest is an online interactive pinboard that lets you “pin” your favorite videos and pictures, allowing you to easily share your interests with anyone who may stumble upon your page. Though Pinterest has yet to be optimized for musicians, there are still plenty of reasons to join the bandwagon and get your music on there.
Like Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest is another great way to directly share and market your band to your fans. You can easily share you band’s music videos and live performances on your page, as well as encourage any fans to post their own videos of you as well. Pinterest also makes is easy to share your pins to your Facebook and Twitter pages so you don’t have to keep reposting the same content across different platforms. Pinterest is also a great way to let your interests and personality shine through. By pinning things that interest you, can not only better connect with fans of your music, but also network with people from related industries who have similar interests as well.
Networking is another great advantage to using Pinterest. If your band is on Pinterest, you can easily search for similar bands near you or all across the country who have common interests. Need to find an opening act for a last minute show that fits your bill? Get on Pinterest and see what you can find!
Overall, Pinterest is just another great way to keep your fans engaged. You want to provide your fans with every possible avenue to talk about you and their love of your music. Pinterest is great for this because it allows fans to pin their interests on your page as well, creating a new sharing dynamic between artists and their fans. And unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest allows users to follow only certain topics on your page, allowing them to filter out any of your content that they may not be captivated by. Although there is no built in music player for Pinterest yet, you should join the growing contingent of musicians like Train and Alanis Morissette and get started on your Pinterest page, so that you’ll be ready when (hopefully) Pinterest becomes more friendly to the independent musician.
By: Ryan J. Colburn